Suspected burglar shot in Hale Center

Published 1:44 pm, Monday, June 10, 2013

HALE CENTER — The victim is also being considered a suspect after the 51-year-old Hale Center man was reportedly being shot in the back late Sunday night.

According to Hale Center police, the shooting victim is hospitalized in critical condition.

Multiple 911 calls flooded Hale Center police just before midnight Sunday after gun shots were heard in the area of Avenue E and Second Street in Hale Center.

A trail of blood led police to the shooting victim, who had collapsed in a residential yard.

In what initially appeared to be a classic case of an individual being shot by an unknown gunman unfolded into a very different scenario Monday morning.

According to Hale Center Police Chief Dennis Burton, further investigation revealed that the 51-year-old is being considered a possible suspect in a weekend business burglary.

Although Burton isn’t releasing any names yet, since neither charges nor arrests had been made, the chief says the wounded man apparently was in the process of burglarizing a local business when the shooting occurred.

After being the victim of several recent burglaries, the store owner apparently was staked out inside his own his business that evening, awaiting any possible intruders, Burton said.

Around 11:15 p.m., Burton reported, the 51-year-old was shot in the back with a shotgun after apparently trying to burglarize the business. The wounded man then fled the scene.

A number of 911 calls were reported after shots were heard around the area.

One 911 caller reported that the wounded man knocked on the door of the caller’s residence requesting aid. According to the caller, the victim fled when the homeowner offered to call 911 for assistance.

The suspect was later seen walking north on west I-27 service road toward Fourth Street, and appeared to be hiding from approaching vehicles.

The suspect later collapsed on the lawn of another Hale Center resident, after reportedly “beating” on the door for assistance.

According to the Hale Center Insider, the suspect was transported to Covenant Hospital Plainview.

Burton says no charges have been filed on the store owner as he is likely protected under the Castle Doctrine, which allows a person to use deadly force if needed to defend their home, vehicle or legally occupied place against intruders.